Mallika Sherawat is a Bollywood actress. She is known for her bold onscreen persona. She debuted in Bollywood with Khwahish (2003). Sherawat has been frequently featured in the media as a sex symbol.

Mallika Sherawat is a Bollywood actress. She is known for her bold onscreen persona. She debuted in Bollywood with Khwahish (2003). Sherawat has been frequently featured in the media as a sex symbol. She later appeared in romantic comedy Pyaar Ke Side Effects (2006) which won her much critical acclaim and changed her image. Since then, she has appeared in successes like Aap Ka Suroor - The Real Love Story, Welcome (both 2007)- her biggest commercial success so far- and Double Dhamaal (2011). She is one of the few Bollywood stars trying to crossover to Hollywood, with films like Hisss (2010) and Politics of Love (2011).

Before entering films, Mallika Sherawat appeared in television commercials with Amitabh Bachchan for BPL and Shahrukh Khan for Santro. She also appeared in Nirmal Pandey's Maar Dala and Surjit Bindrakhia's Lak Tunoo music video. She did bit roles in films like Jeena Sirf Merre Liye.

Sherawat attracted notice with her appearance in Murder and a year later Khwahish. She was noticed for her bold role with critic Narbir Gosal writing, " ...she has the chops to pull off a role like this one. She´s confident and sexy as Simran and handles her emotional scenes with dignity."

She received a nomination for Best Actress at the Zee Cine Awards for her performance in Murder. The film went on to become one of the biggest hits of the year.

In 2005, Sherawat acted in The Myth, a Chinese film, starring with Jackie Chan. She played the role of an Indian girl who saves Chan's character from a river. The Myth was her first International film. Her appearance at the Cannes Film Festival to promote the film grabbed a lot of attention with Time Magazine's Richard Corliss calling her "the next big thing".

Her first release in 2007 was Mani Ratnam's Guru, in which she appeared in a special song, Mayya Mayya. The song became a rage. She had a cameo in Himesh Reshammiya's Aap Ka Suroor - The Real Love Story and reportedly charged Rs. 15 million for a 10-minute appearance.

Welcome (2007) also did well at the box office receiving blockbuster status, her performance similarly received rave reviews with noted film critic Taran Adarsh writing, " Mallika Sherawat is electrifying."

Her 2008 releases were Ugly Aur Pagli and Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam. Both films were unsuccessful at the box office. Sherawat's next Bollywood release was Double Dhamaal, which was a moderate success at the box office, receiving above average status at the box office, by Box Office India. She also appeared in item numbers in films such as Thank You (Razia Gundon Mein Phas Gayi), Bin Bulaye Baraati (Shalu Ke Thumkey) and in Osthe (Kalasala), which is a Tamil film.

In 2012, she also featured in an item number in Tezz (Laila). Sherawat also got a full fledged role in Kismat Love Paisa Dilli opposite Vivek Oberoi.

Family: Sherawat was born Reema Lamba in Rohtak, Haryana to a Jat family. Mallika was born in the family of Seth Chhaju Ram, a leading Jat philanthropist. Sherawat is her mother's maiden name. She has stated that she uses her mother's maiden name because of the support that her mother has provided her. Although relations with her family were strained when she entered the film industry, now Sherawat's family have accepted her career choice and reconciled with the actress.